Using evidence from the SCHIP expansion to assess the effect of public insurance coverage and provider reimbursement on access to dental care

The Foundation's Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization program was designed to support research, demonstration, and evaluation projects examining major changes in health care financing.The purpose of this project is to better understand the effects of public dental coverage in order to inform related Medicaid and SCHIP policy-making. The researchers will examine the role that public health insurance plays in improving access to dental care for poor and near-poor children. Specifically, they will study low-income children to assess how Medicaid/SCHIP eligibility generosity affects dental care utilization. They will investigate how changes in program features and market conditions affected the supply of dental care to the publicly insured, addressing the following research questions: (1) What is the effect of public insurance on the probability a child has an annual dental visit, and what is the effect on the total number of visits per year? (2) How does the effect of public insurance on dental utilization vary with key program parameters? (3) How do changes in public dental insurance programs affect provider participation? (4) What was the public dental health insurance environment in the states prior to SCHIP, and how did it change as a result of SCHIP implementation? and (5) How did states change dental provider reimbursement rates with the implementation of SCHIP? Deliverables will include a project work plan, semi-annual narrative and financial reports, an annual narrative and financial report, a final narrative and financial report, and a final policy summary. The grantee will also produce paper(s) suitable for publication as part of the deliverables for this grant.